Aircraft seat

ABSTRACT

A reclining seat for use in a vehicle is provided with a back shell at least partially surrounding the back so that between a first upright position and a second reclined position the back shell is capable of independent positioning relative to said back cushion, whereby privacy may be enhanced by the position of the back shell. Preferably, the armrest is selectively moveable from above the seating surface to a position approximately level with the seating surface, and most preferably there is also at least one shoulder privacy panel selectively extendible within an area between the seating surface and the back shell. In certain preferred embodiments the back shell has a range of pivot of about 15 degrees between a first position and a second position. In another aspect of the present invention, a video monitor is integrated into the back shell, preferably independently tiltable from a fist position to a second position, most preferably within a range of tilt of approximately 25-degrees. Seats made in accordance with the present invention also preferably include such features as at least one storage compartment, a footwell and at least one handhold integrated into the back shell. The present invention also provides improvements to seat controls and in this regard provides a control panel disposed on the armrest comprising at least one seat control switch and preferably further comprising a recessed control panel. The recessed control panel most preferably comprises a membrane switch panel and is not parallel to a surface defined by the armrest to provide a tilted viewing surface. In certain preferred embodiments, the control panel is back lit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to adjustable seats adapted to perform multiple functions, and more particularly, to aircraft passenger seats designed to enhance passenger comfort during long haul flights and facilitate their adjustment by passengers.

[0003] 2. Brief Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Passenger comfort and convenience is a very important aspect of seat design for any vehicle, but is of particular importance in the context of a seat that might be occupied by an airline passenger for ten, twenty or more hours during long haul intercontinental flights. As the numbers of long- or extended-range aircraft (and other vehicles) grow in commercial fleets, passengers increasingly spend substantial amounts of time in such seats. Passengers are often willing to pay substantially more in fare in exchange for enhanced comfort during long-range travel and the availability of “frequent flyer” awards in which enhanced comfort is an advertised or corresponding benefit has been on the rise. Airlines and other commercial transportation companies thus continue to attempt to improve the comfort and convenience of passengers as part of their overall operations

[0005] One improved seat design is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. D439,425—Park et al. which shows a seat with a moveable desk directly in front of the passenger. Many airlines, however, prefer more traditional arrangements of seats, which, for example, typically use the rear portion of the seat directly in front of them rather than provide the moveable desk illustrated in the Park et al. patent.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,994—Bentley et al. discloses multi-function adjustable seats that provide motion and adjustability and which contain built-in features such as a tilting tray table and use of a touch screen to control the seat position and actuate the seat's features.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,923—Bilezikjian describes certain features of existing seats typical of first class or business class, and such seats often if not always have personal storage compartments, compartments for cocktail trays, and the like. An often-available “sleeper” seat in first class may include additional features such as a video monitor, an extendable leg rest, and other features for passenger comfort and convenience.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,898 to Dixon, et al. discloses a specific linkage assembly for interconnecting the bottom and back of such a seat so as purportedly to provide a ratio of seat back movement to seat bottom movement of greater than 1:1. With the linkage assembly, the associated seat is designed so that it provides greater comfort to the occupant and prevents or minimizes dishevelment of clothing during travel caused by shirttails being pulled from trousers or skirts as the seat back pivots.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,552 to Harris details an example of a table storable in an armrest of the seats, which in use is adapted to move angularly in a horizontal plane should, for example, a passenger need to depart his or her seat temporarily while the table is deployed. Another arrangement for storing and using a tray table is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,013—Rusyniak.

[0010] There remains, however, a long-felt and unmet need for additional improvements in the design and construction of passenger seats, and in particular, improvements that enhance the comfort and utility of first class or luxury sets and elevate the perceived value of such seats.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a reclining seat comprising a back having a back cushion attached thereto and a base having a seat cushion attached thereto connected at least indirectly to the back. Additionally, the seat has a back shell at least partially surrounding the back that is pivotally connected to the base, wherein the back cushion and said seat cushion move between a first upright position and a second reclined position, and the back shell is capable of independent positioning relative to said back cushion, whereby privacy is enhanced by the position of the back shell. Preferably, the seat has at least one armrest selectively moveable from a first position above a seating surface defined by the seat cushion to a second position approximately level with the seating surface, and most preferably there is also at least one shoulder privacy panel selectively extendible within an area between the seating surface and the back shell. In certain preferred embodiments the back shell has a range of pivot of about fifteen degrees between a first position and a second position.

[0012] In another aspect of the present invention, a video monitor is integrated into the back shell, and preferably the video monitor is independently tiltable from a fist position to a second position, most preferably within a range of tilt of approximately twenty-five degrees. Seats made in accordance with the present invention also preferably include such features as at least one storage compartment, a footwell and at least one handhold integrated into the back shell.

[0013] The present invention also provides improvements to seat controls and in this regard provides a control panel disposed on the armrest comprising at least one seat control switch and preferably further comprising a recessed control panel. The recessed control panel most preferably comprises a membrane switch panel and is not parallel to a surface defined by the armrest to provide a tilted viewing surface. In certain preferred embodiments, the control panel is backlit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a seat made in accordance with the present invention in a fully reclined position;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a seat in the filly upright position;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the seat shown in FIGS. 1-2 from a rear observation point; and

[0017]FIG. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the seat control unit provided in the seat illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] The present invention has been developed to give passengers maximum individual comfort for all stages of a long haul flight. As will readily be understood by those of skill in the art, comfort includes sitting and sleeping, but also includes numerous other activities undertaken by a passenger in a seat.

[0019] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a seat 100 made in accordance with the present invention in a fully reclined position. Additional details of a preferred embodiment of a seat 100 made in accordance with the present innovation can be observed with reference to FIG. 2, wherein a perspective view of a seat in the fully upright position is illustrated. In order to provide the benefits described above, the seat 100 shown in FIGS. 1-2 provides passenger comfort in various positions between the reclined position shown in FIG. 1 and the upright position shown in FIG. 2. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the seat and back cushions 102,104 articulate within a back shell structure 106. As will be appreciated by comparing FIGS. 1-2, the seat 100 may be moved through a sequence of positions that go from upright to various lounging positions, and on to a flat sleeping surface. The fully flat surface gives the passenger full freedom in sleeping in their preferred positions. Comfort in this latter regard—sleeping—is important on long-haul flights, and in accordance with this aspect of preferred embodiments of the present invention both armrests 108 are automatically lowered so as to provide a wider surface or, in a most preferred embodiment, an additional bed width of about six inches (6.0″/15 cm) and thus a bed width including the seat cushions of about twenty-seven inches (27″/68.6 cm). In preferred embodiments, a footrest 103 extends from the seat cushion 102.

[0020] As mentioned above, one feature of the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-2 is the back shell 106. For example, a passenger in an aisle seat can achieve more privacy when the seat 100 is in the reclined position shown in FIG. 1 by raising the back shell 106 to its original position when the seat 100 was upright as shown in FIG. 2. One further advantage of the present invention is that a passenger's space may be defined individually since the back shell 106 preferably contains shoulder privacy panels 110 shown in FIG. 1 that are near the head and shoulder area in the sleeping position which can be opened by the passenger if desired. Thus, in order to accommodate the passenger's shoulders, or to provide a more open, less claustrophobic environment, the shell can be opened, as shown on the right hand side of the seat 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. The design of the seat 100 of the present invention also permits companions travelling together to make use of the central space between a pair of seats by lowering the armrests 108 and opening the shoulder privacy panels 110, to in effect create a “double bed” that minimizes barriers between seatmates. Conversely, should privacy between two passengers be desired, the shoulder privacy panels 110 can be employed for maximum effect, thereby creating a telescoping center divider.

[0021] Further features of preferred embodiments of the present invention are seen in FIG. 3, which is a perspective view of the seat shown in FIGS. 1-2 from a rear observation point. The phantom lines illustrate the pivoting movement of the back shell 106, which is mot preferably about a fifteen-degree range of movement. Additionally, it is preferred to provide integrated handholds 107 in the back shell 106 to aid passenger egress and ingress. As shown in FIG. 3, video monitor 120 is preferably integrated into the back shell 106 and most preferably is pivotable between a position flush with the back shell 106 and about a 25 degree tilt angle, as shown in phantom. By providing a tilting video monitor, optimal viewing can be achieved as the seat is moved between upright and reclined positions. Additionally, in preferred embodiments, storage pockets 130 for small items are integrated into the either side of the video monitor 120. FIG. 3 also illustrates the footwell 140 where the footrest 103 described above and illustrated in FIGS. 1-2 fits when a seat 100 is in the fully reclined (sleeping) position. An additional aspect of the present invention is that all the auxiliary items used by a passenger in flight, e.g., and AC power supply for laptops, a modem socket for connection to a network, a headset jack, reading light, selector knobs for the entertainment system, etc. are all located together near the center edge of the back shell so as to crate a clear, dedicated viewing area, and keeping all extended cords on the same side of the seat and reducing search time for various functions.

[0022] A preferred embodiment of the seat control unit 200 provided in the seat 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 is illustrated in FIG. 4. A seat made in accordance with the present invention provides a high degree of convenience that in preferred embodiments is represented by the construction and layout of the seat control panel 200. The most basic function of recline control is operated by a top-mounted recessed toggle switch 202 that is located so that it accessible to the passenger regardless of the position of the seat. The toggle switch 202 is also preferably backlit or otherwise illuminated or glows so that it may be readily located at night or when the cabin is darkened, particularly so that passenger can located it while reclined. As will be readily appreciated, the use of such a toggle switch 202 is very intuitive to the passenger. Additional functional switches are reduced to a minimum to enhance their functionality. These additional switches are preferably disposed on a membrane panel 204 recessed into the armrest 108. The recessed surface is angled to provide maximum visual view to the passenger, while reducing the possibility of inadvertent activating of the switches. Most preferably, the switch for raising and lowering the arm rest is also a toggle switch 206 and is located at he front of the end of the armrest 108 to again lend itself to an intuitive use, e.g., being pulled to raise the arm and pushed down to lower the armrest 108, as explained above with reference to FIGS. 1-2.

[0023] Although certain embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with particularity, those of skill in the art will appreciate from the foregoing description that numerous adaptations, modifications, variations and alternative embodiments are readily made without departing from the spirit of the invention disclosed. Therefore, in order to ascertain the true scope of the present invention, reference should be made to the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A reclining seat for use in a vehicle comprising: a back having a back cushion attached thereto; a base having a seat cushion attached thereto connected at least indirectly to the back; a back shell at least partially surrounding said back that is pivotally connected to the base, wherein said back cushion and said seat cushion move between a first upright position and a second reclined position and said back shell is capable of independent positioning relative to said back cushion, whereby privacy may be enhanced by the position of the back shell.
 2. A seat according to claim 1 further comprising at least one armrest selectively moveable from a first position above a seating surface defined by the seat cushion to a second position approximately level with the seating surface.
 3. A seat according to claim 1 future comprising at least one shoulder privacy panel selectively extendible within an area between the seating surface and the back shell.
 4. A seat according to claim 1, wherein the back shell has a range of pivot of about 15 degrees between a first position and a second position.
 5. A seat according to claim 1, further comprising a footrest extending from the base.
 6. A seat according to claim 1, further comprising a video monitor integrated into the back shell.
 7. A seat according to claim 6, wherein the video monitor is independently tiltable from a fist position to a second position.
 8. A seat according to claim 7 wherein the video monitor has a range of tilt of approximately 25-degrees.
 9. A seat according to claim 1, further comprising at least one storage compartment integrated into the back shell.
 10. A seat according to claim 1, further comprising at least one handhold integrated into the back shell.
 11. A seat according to claim 1, further comprising a footwell integrated into the back shell.
 12. A seat according to claim 1 further comprising a control panel disposed on the armrest, said control panel comprising at least one seat control switch.
 13. A seat according to claim 12 further comprising a recessed control panel.
 14. A seat according to claim 13 wherein said recessed control panel comprises a membrane switch panel.
 15. A seat according to claim 13 wherein said recessed control panel is not parallel to a surface defined by the armrest to provide a tilted viewing surface.
 16. A seat according to claim 12 wherein the control panel is backlit.
 17. A control panel for a seat, disposed on an armrest of the seat, said control panel comprising at least one seat control switch and a recessed control panel.
 18. The control panel of claim 17 wherein said recessed control panel comprises a membrane switch panel.
 19. The control panel of claim 18 wherein recessed control panel is not parallel to a surface defined by the armrest to provide a tilted viewing surface.
 20. The control panel of claim 17 wherein the control panel is backlit. 